Spotting a camouflaged snake is one of Australia’s great pastimes – but this might be the sneakiest serpent yet.
The coastal carpet python was photographed slithering through a big pile of mulch on the Sunshine Coast, but managed to remain cleverly hidden.
Snake catcher Lockie Gilding posted the snap to his business Facebook page, completely baffling his 54,000 followers.
The coastal carpet python was photographed slithering through a big pile of mulch on the Sunshine Coast, but managed to remain cleverly hidden
‘It seems that the last ‘Spot the Snake’ was a little easy for you guys, so hopefully this one is a little more of a challenge!’ he wrote.
Challenging it was, as no one who commented on the photo could agree on the location of the lurking predator.
Dozens of keen-eyed observers tried circling the reptile on the photo but only one person pointed to the right location, with others calling the task ‘impossible’.
They also speculated what type of snake it was, with many suggesting it was carpet python or an eastern brown snake.
The female snake is actually hiding in the bottom left of the mulch pile, having burrowed in to incubate her eggs
The snake was well-hidden and barely visible as it poked its head and some of its body out from its burrowed bolthole
The female snake is actually hiding in the bottom left of the mulch pile, having burrowed in to incubate her eggs.
‘Unfortunately the mulch pile that she was using was in the process of being moved and so she had to be safely relocated,’ Mr Gilding said.
‘Lucky for her the eggs are in perfect condition and will be looked after by us until they are ready to hatch.’
The snake catcher later uploaded a video showing him digging the snake out from the mulch and removing its eggs before grabbing and bagging the placid snake.
The snake catcher later uploaded a video showing him digging the snake out from the mulch and removing its eggs
He then grabbed and bagged the placid snake to move it to another area